How We Preach: Preaching in the African Context

How We Preach: Preaching in the African Context

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ISBN 978-0-88177-866-3

Contents

Preface

This book is one of two volumes on Preaching in the African Context. In volume one, I explore Why We Preach and the principles of contextual preaching in Africa. In this second volume, I explore How We Preach and the practice of contextual preaching in Africa. The two volumes go hand in hand; the principles need good practice to become contextual preaching, and our practice needs principles to ensure integrity. The two volumes together are intended to address the dearth of literature on preaching from an African point of view that I saw while on the Faculty of Theology at Africa University.

There is compelling need in theological education to teach and study all disciplines contextually. I sensed the need for a preaching text that pulls together information from existing literature and texts for the African preacher. Discussions with students from all corners of Africa helped me contextualize preaching. It is presumptuous to write a book on preaching that does justice to the divergent experiences in Africa. But shared experiences can be adapted and applied to particular contexts.

Contextual preaching serves as the most appropriate way of communicating the gospel in Africa: it can connect with people and engage the minds of the people in effective ways. It is incumbent upon African theologians to preach the gospel in ways that recognize African cultural modes of communication. African preachers are not oblivious to the need for cultural sensitivity. The use of vernacular languages in African churches is in itself a milestone in the process of contextualization

Congregational responses with ululating or song accompanied by drums, rattles, and dancing are positive signs of a people worshipping in context. What preachers still lack is intentionality towards contextual preaching. This observation is further affirmed Episcopal Area. My aim in this book is to provide pastors and lay preachers with the practices that will help them be more sensitive to African cultural nuances.

Finally this book is for both seasoned preachers and beginners, including students in seminaries, Bible colleges, and universities. Preaching is an urgent aspect of ministry that can open new horizons and give fresh outlook for the future. Christian preaching is sustained by the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I wish to thank Africa University for according me sabbatical leave for study. Further, a special word of appreciation goes to Professors Edward P. Wimberly and Anne Streaty Wimberly for facilitating my family’s one-month stay at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and for arranging for me to use the Clark Atlanta University Library. To all preachers whose sermons found their way in this study I say thank you. In addition, a word of thanks goes to Mrs. Redempter Gambinga, the typist who fed my longhand manuscript into the computer at the Ocasia Typing Services in Mutare, for her patience and diligence. More expression of thanks go to Mrs. Patience Gwaradzimba, my secretary in the Bishop’s office, for sorting out material of the book for rewriting as required by the editor.

My wife, Greater Tarememredzwa, and daughter Nyasha left me undisturbed for long hours while I worked on the book. I thank them for their patience and encouragement. To all present and former students in my Homiletics class, I am grateful for the discussions and divergent views we shared whose fruits have found their way into this book. In addition, I thank and dedicate this book to my first professor of Homiletics, the late Reverend Dr. Maurice Culver, and to my late pastor at Old Mutare Mission, the Reverend David Mudzengerere, who encouraged me to join the ordained ministry. Reverend Mudzengerere urged me: Nhiwatiwa, kana uchiparidza usazotamba nevanhu, translated literally, Nhiwatiwa, when you preach don’t ever play with people.

Finally, allow me to thank a team of co-workers who later became involved in this book as if by divine providence. Reverend Steve Bryant and Mrs. Kara Lassen Central Conferences in Africa to produce devotional and theological education material for the church and seminaries. It was during such processes and discussion that Steve got to know of my manuscript and became interested. With instant insight, Kara suggested that the manuscript could be divided into two books: the first part focusing on the theory of preaching and the second on the practical side of it. Without their support this work would still be in the shape of a manuscript. To the General Board of Discipleship I say thank you for seeing something of substance in these books as worth publishing under your auspices.

Finally, to Kathleen Stephens, my editor for the books, for putting a refining touch to the manuscript and thereby shaping the material into readable books, I say thank you. It is indeed my hope to always take preaching seriously, as Reverend Mudzengerere urged me. May this book inspire more preachers in their proclamation of the gospel.

E. K. N.

Chapter 1

Preparing to Preach

Before taking off, airplane flight crews explain to passengers the measures to take in case of emergency. These potential emergencies are usually major, such as lack of pressure in the cabin, which means there will be no oxygen on emergency landing. There is no mention of crashing, although that is what is implied. In one aircraft the captain advised us to listen to the instructions in the unlikely event there could be a problem. The point is that despite technological advancements, careful inspections by qualified technicians, and detailed preparations before a flight, one cannot rule out the possibility of a disaster.

Similarly, preparing to preach is no guarantee that the sermon will not crash-land. The difference in the analogy is that airplane passengers are instructed on what precautions to take. But no one informs the poor congregation of what to watch for in a sermon so that they can leave the sanctuary for their own safety! We however urge preachers to take stages in the preparation of sermons seriously, if for no other reason than that those disasters might be mitigated, and above all to be most ready for the upliftment of the Spirit in communicating God’s message to the people with power.

The Situation of the African Preacher

In modern business language there is talk about conditions of service, a term meaning rules, codes of conduct, and benefits due to the employee. What is usually not considered in the conditions of service is the general environment in which the individual employee will find him or herself. The larger environment impacts the performance and productivity of the employee beyond that of the immediate location. The environment within which the African preacher operates should be examined with the aim of determining some constraining factors that might negatively affect delivery of sermons.

Preaching demands thorough preparation involving the whole being of the preacher. It is hard, time-consuming work to minister at one’s best. There are, however, factors that hinder the African preacher from paying attention to the preparation of sermons. Habit and tradition play a part in this. Africans are generally impromptu speakers. This self-assured confidence can lead to preaching without preparation. Impromptu speaking is an ability and skill that can enhance one’s oral delivery, but when it leads to little preparation it hinders the ability to preach well.

Another factor is that African preachers are generally overworked and exhausted most of the time. Consequently, they are usually deprived of adequate time to prepare for sermons. One may hear a pastor at a church function on a Saturday stating with surprise that tomorrow is Sunday and that he or she is the one preaching. This usually indicates that the pastor has not finished preparing the next day’s sermon or, worse, has not begun preparation.

Pastoral visitation is the norm in the African church, yet the majority of African pastors have no private means of transport. This is particularly hard on those in rural areas. Parishioners must be visited, so the pastor does so by walking from one house to another throughout the village. If a member is not home, that pastor may have to walk to the fields to find him or her, which could be five or more kilometres away. On returning home from visiting members, the pastor may hear that a member has died at a neighbouring village where another preaching point is situated. To be a good pastor means that one must not rest but proceed to be with the bereaved family.

In a village setting and at mission centres the pastor often plays the role of kraal head. Travellers, who usually arrive late in the evening, need to be fed and housed, no matter how late it is. All this must be done despite the pastor’s weariness from the day of walking. Urban pastors may be relatively better off, but there are a number of circumstances that also crowd their workday and leave little time for preparing a sermon.

A further complication is the lack of education and resources. Homiletic tools for crafting sermons that are readily available in the Western world are in most cases nonexistent for the African preacher. Pastors often graduate from seminaries with only the textbook prescribed for each of the courses they took. Indeed, many student pastors depend on the library because books are so expensive if they are available at all. This means that even a well-trained preacher may dry up intellectually because of lack of resources. Compounding the problem is the fact that most African churches are being served by preachers who do not have much formal education.¹

To survive in the pulpit, preachers may fall into the temptation of preaching superficial sermons. Those blessed with musical talent may use three quarters of the sermon time for singing and one quarter for narrative. In some cases the pastor repeats